System and method for modifying advertisement responsive to EPG information

• US 8,635,649 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2002
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gemstar Development Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Gemstar Development Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Ward, Thomas E. III, Hancock, Kenneth, Macrae, Douglas B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Goodarzi, Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peng, Fred
• Application Number:
  US10/066,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20020073424A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,369 Days
• Field of Search: 725/40, 725/42, 725/43
• US Class Current: 725/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/1739 the upstream communication being transmitted via a separate link, e.g. telephone line
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 : Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 : by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system and method for utilizing data stored in an EPG database for modifying advertisement information. In this way, a service provider and/or an advertiser can transmit a single advertisement to all the television stations regardless of their geographic location and other user specific information, and need not re-transmit the advertisement even if there is a change in the show'"'"'s program description. When the advertisement is displayed, the correct updated information is retrieved from the EPG database and inserted into the advertisement. In one aspect, the present invention describes a method for modifying an advertisement in an EPG comprising the steps of: storing television schedule information in a first database; storing advertisement information in a second database; incorporating a portion of the television schedule information into a portion of the advertisement information to form a modified advertisement; and displaying the modified advertisement on a screen.

Claims

1. A method for displaying a customized advertisement on a display comprising the steps of:

storing, local to a user equipment, viewer profile information in a database;

receiving an advertisement, the advertisement including primary advertisement information;

determining whether the stored viewer profile information matches information associated with a supplemental advertisement information item from a plurality of supplemental advertisement information items;

selecting the supplemental advertisement information item from the plurality of supplemental advertisement information items for inclusion in the customized advertisement when the stored viewer profile information matches the information associated with the supplemental advertisement information item;

customizing, local to the user equipment, the received advertisement to include the selected supplemental advertisement information item to form the customized advertisement; and

causing the customized advertisement to be displayed, wherein the displayed customized advertisement includes both the primary advertisement information and the selected supplemental advertisement information item, wherein the displayed primary advertisement information is associated with the displayed supplemental advertisement information item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving, determining, selecting, customizing, and causing steps are performed in substantially real time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving promotional information about a future television program.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving promotional information about a currently telecast television program.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving promotional information about one or more of a product and a service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step comprises storing favorite channel information and the customizing step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement with the stored favorite channel information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step comprises storing favorite program information and the customizing step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement with the stored favorite program information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step comprises storing a web site address and the customizing step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement with the stored web site address.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step comprises storing information related to a geographical location and the customizing step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement with the information related to a geographical location.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step comprises storing information related to a television viewer and the customizing step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement with the information related to a television viewer.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step comprises storing information related to rotating advertisement information in an EPG and the customizing step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement with the information related to rotating advertisement information.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising causing the advertisement information to be displayed in an EPG based on the rotating information.

13. The method of claim 3, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the future television program.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the one or more of the product and the service.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of receiving a user selection of the customized advertisement and activating a function related to the selected advertisement.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of activating a function comprises linking to a web site based on an address related to the selected advertisement and causing information from the web site to be displayed.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of activating a function comprises causing information related to the selected advertisement to be displayed.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of activating a function comprises scheduling a future television program for recording.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of activating a function comprises tuning to a currently telecast television program.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein customizing the received advertisement comprises replacing a text portion of the received advertisement with a text portion of the supplemental advertisement-information item.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein customizing the received advertisement comprises replacing a graphic portion of the received advertisement with a graphic portion of the supplemental advertisement-information item.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the customized advertisement is displayed on a first portion of the display and television schedule information is displayed on a second, non-overlapping, portion of the display.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the customized advertisement is displayed on a first portion of the display and a video is displayed on a second, non-overlapping, portion of the display.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary advertisement information is displayed on a first portion of the display, and the selected supplemental advertisement information item is displayed on a second, non-overlapping, portion of the display.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary advertisement information is displayed on a first portion of the display, and the selected supplemental advertisement information item is displayed on a second portion of the display, wherein the second portion of the display overlaps at least partially with the first portion of the display.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the stored viewer profile information matches information associated with the supplemental advertisement information item comprises:

comparing a portion of the viewer profile information to data stored in a packet of the supplemental advertisement information item.

27. A method for displaying a customized advertisement on a display comprising the steps of:

storing, local to a user equipment, viewer profile information in a first database;

storing an advertisement in a second database, the advertisement including primary advertisement information;

retrieving the advertisement from the second database;

determining whether the stored viewer profile information matches information associated with a supplemental advertisement information item from a plurality of supplemental advertisement information items;

selecting the supplemental advertisement information item from the plurality of supplemental advertisement information items for inclusion in the customized advertisement when the stored viewer profile information matches the information associated with the supplemental advertisement information item;

overlaying, local to the user equipment, the selected supplemental advertisement information item onto the retrieved advertisement to form the customized advertisement; and

causing customized advertisement to be displayed, wherein the customized advertisement includes both the primary advertisement information and the overlaid selected supplemental advertisement information item, wherein the displayed primary advertisement information is associated with the displayed supplemental advertisement information item.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the storing advertisement step comprises storing promotional information about a future television program.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the storing advertisement step comprises storing promotional information about a currently telecast television program.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the storing advertisement step comprises storing promotional information about one or more of a product and a service.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the storing viewer profile information step comprises storing favorite channel information and the overlaying step comprises overlaying the stored favorite channel information onto a portion of the stored advertisement.

32. The method of claim 27, wherein the storing viewer profile information step comprises storing favorite program information and the overlaying step comprises overlaying the stored favorite program information onto a portion of the stored advertisement.

33. The method of claim 27, wherein the storing viewer profile information step comprises storing a web site address and the overlaying step comprises overlaying the stored web site address onto a portion of the stored advertisement.

34. The method of claim 28, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the future television program.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the one or more of the product and the service.

36. The method of claim 27 further comprising the steps of receiving a user selection of the displayed customized advertisement and activating a function related to the selected advertisement.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of activating a function comprises linking to a web site based on an address related to the selected advertisement and causing more information from the web site to be displayed.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of activating a function comprises causing information related to the selected advertisement to be displayed.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of activating a function comprises causing a video preview related to the selected advertisement to be displayed.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of activating a function comprises scheduling a future television program for recording.

41. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of activating a function comprises tuning to a currently telecast television program.

42. A system for displaying customized advertisements comprising:

a processor configured to;

retrieve an advertisement from a second database, wherein the advertisement includes primary advertisement information;

determine whether viewer profile information matches information associated with a supplemental advertisement information item from a plurality of supplemental advertisement information items, wherein the viewer profile information is stored in a first database;

select the supplemental advertisement information item from the plurality of supplemental advertisement information items for inclusion in the customized advertisement when the stored viewer profile information matches the information associated with the supplemental advertisement information item; and

customize, local to the user equipment, the retrieved advertisement to include the selected supplemental advertisement information item to form the customized advertisement; and

cause the customized advertisement to be displayed, wherein the displayed customized advertisement includes both the primary advertisement information and the selected supplemental advertisement information item, wherein the displayed primary advertisement information is associated with the displayed supplemental advertisement information item.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the advertisement information is promotional information about a future television program.

44. The system of claim 42, wherein the advertisement information is promotional information about a currently telecast television program.

45. The system of claim 42, wherein the advertisement information is promotional information about one or more of a product and a service.

46. The system of claim 42, wherein the first database includes a program description for combining a portion of the advertisement information with the stored program description.

47. The system of claim 42, wherein the first database includes favorite channel information for combining with a portion of the stored advertisement.

48. The system of claim 42, wherein the first database includes a web site address for combining with a portion of the stored advertisement.

49. The system of claim 42, wherein the first database includes geographical location data for combining with a portion of the stored advertisement.

50. The system of claim 42, wherein the first database includes information related to a television viewer for combining with a portion of the stored advertisement.

51. The system of claim 42, wherein the first database includes information related to rotating advertisement information in an EPG for combining with a portion of the advertisement.

52. The system of claim 43, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the future television program.

53. The system of claim 45, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the one or more of a product and a service.

54. The system of claim 42, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a user selection of the displayed customized advertisement and activate a function related to the selected advertisement.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the processor is configured to activate a function by being further configured to activate a function to link to a web site based on an address related to the selected advertisement.

56. The system of claim 54, wherein the processor is configured to activate a function by being further configured to activate a function to cause detailed information related to the selected advertisement to be displayed.

57. The system of claim 54, wherein the processor is configured to activate a function by being further configured to activate a function to schedule a future television program for recording.

58. The system of claim 54, wherein the processor is configured to activate a function by being further configured to activate a function to tune to a currently telecast television program.

59. The system of claim 54, wherein the processor is configured to activate a function by being further configured to activate a function to cause a video preview related to the selected advertisement to be displayed.

60. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions including instructions for displaying a customized advertisement on a display, the instructions, when executed by a microprocessor, causing the microprocessor to perform the steps of:

storing viewer profile information in a database, the database local to a user equipment;

receiving an advertisement, the advertisement including primary advertisement information;

determining whether the stored viewer profile information matches information associated with a supplemental advertisement information item from a plurality of supplemental advertisement information items;

selecting the supplemental advertisement information item from the plurality of supplemental advertisement information items for inclusion in the customized advertisement when the stored viewer profile information matches the information associated with the supplemental advertisement information item;

customizing, local to the user equipment, the received advertisement to include the selected supplemental advertisement information item to form the customized advertisement; and

causing the customized advertisement to be displayed, wherein the displayed customized advertisement includes both the primary advertisement information and the selected supplemental advertisement item, wherein the displayed primary advertisement information is associated with the displayed supplemental advertisement information item.

61. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions including instructions for displaying a customized advertisement on a display, the instructions, when executed by a microprocessor, causing the microprocessor to perform the steps of:

storing viewer profile information in a first database, the first database local to a user equipment;

storing an advertisement in a second database, the advertisement including primary advertisement information;

determining whether the stored viewer profile information matches information associated with a supplemental advertisement information item from a plurality of supplemental advertisement information items;

selecting the supplemental advertisement information item from the plurality of supplemental advertisement information items for inclusion in the customized advertisement when the stored viewer profile information matches the information associated with the supplemental advertisement information item;

overlaying, local to the user equipment, the selected supplemental advertisement information item onto the advertisement to form the customized advertisement; and

causing the customized advertisement to be displayed, wherein the customized advertisement includes both the primary advertisement information and the overlaid selected supplemental advertisement information item, wherein the displayed primary advertisement information is associated with the displayed supplemental advertisement information item.